Chapter 417: Conflict

"You all remember what the President looks like, right? Once you find him, use Apparition to take him away," Jacqueline said. "There are many Muggles here; it won't be good if they discover us."

"Okai, how are things on your father's end?"

"He drank a large gulp of Draught of Living Death; it's enough to keep him asleep until tomorrow night," the wizard named Okai said excitedly.

"Good. Check your wands, use the Disillusionment Charm and the Silencing Charm. We'll split up now. Whoever finds the Muggle President, take him immediately. Those who don't find him, meet at the barn in ten minutes!"

"Move out!"

The twelve young wizards cast the Disillusionment Charm and Silencing Charm on themselves, then walked into the Italian Parliament Building. It was full of guards and people coming and going, making the wizards quite nervous. However, they soon realized that no one had noticed them, and they immediately became bold.

Yet, they soon encountered their first problem: the Parliament Building was too large, and there were too many people. Finding one specific person here was truly not easy.

But since everyone had used the Disillusionment Charm and Silencing Charm, they couldn't see each other, and changing plans on the fly was impossible. They had no choice but to bite the bullet and keep searching, pushing open every door and carefully scrutinizing every passerby. Even so, they still found nothing.

Ten minutes later, the twelve wizards appeared one after another in the barn.

"Damn it, is that guy even here?!"

"We should think of a way to communicate with each other!"

"Fausto, you stepped on my foot just now, you idiot!"

"I did not!"

"You were the one walking behind me; it must have been you!"

"Enough! Quiet!" Jacqueline shouted, finally managing to get everyone to settle down. "We made a mistake. We didn't expect the other side to be so cunning, hiding among so many Muggles. Okai, are you sure the Muggle President is at work today?"

"I'm sure. My father said he has an important meeting today and won't be absent."

"Searching like this isn't working, Jacqueline," a wizard reminded her. "We should grab a Muggle and ask them where the Muggle President is! I have Veritaserum here; I guarantee the other party will tell the truth!"

"But how are we supposed to communicate with each other?!" another wizard asked. "Not being able to see each other is too troublesome. Are we supposed to wait another ten minutes to see if we've caught a Muggle to ask for directions, and then another ten minutes to confirm if we've caught the Muggle President?"

"I have a way. I traveled to England and bought a set of gadgets called Goblin Gold Coins. They allow us to talk to each other, but I only have nine of them."

"Nine people is enough!"

Very quickly, nine wizards infiltrated the Capitol building again, then grabbed a poor clerk who was preparing to go to the restroom, dragged him to the barn, and fed him Veritaserum without a word.

"Speak quickly, where is the Muggle President?!"

"M-Muggle?" The clerk had been fed too much Veritaserum and was dazed, still unable to understand their question.

"Damn it, your President! Where is he?!"

"The President is at the Quirinal Palace."

The wizards were stunned. "Isn't it the Parliament Building?"

"The President doesn't work at the Parliament Building."

"..."

The wizards were a bit confused. Damn it, how is this different from the Ministry of Magic? Isn't the President the head of the Muggle government? How can he not work at the government building?!

Fortunately, the Quirinal Palace had a long history, and even among the wizards, some knew where it was. The plan changed again; Jacqueline sent five wizards with the Goblin Gold Coins to the Quirinal Palace to capture the President.

After they left, a wizard named Wallace suddenly thought of something and took out the photo to show the clerk. "This guy, he's your President, right?"

The clerk looked at the photo and shook his head. "No, this is the Prime Minister."

What the?!

"Damn it! Okai got the wrong person?!" Jacqueline was shocked. "Call them back!"

However, they had already left on their broomsticks and were now out of communication range; they couldn't be called back.

"Wait, Okai might not have been wrong," Wallace said. "My mother is Muggle-born, and I seem to recall her saying that the powers of the Muggle Prime Minister and President are different."

As he spoke, he showed the photo to the clerk again. "Muggle, cough, I mean, is this person the one with the most power in this country?"

The clerk nodded. "Yes."

"Okai wasn't wrong. The person his father is protecting is the Prime Minister, who has the most power in the country, not the President. We should go capture the Prime Minister," Wallace said, feeling he understood everything.

However, no sooner had he finished speaking than the clerk added, "But the Prime Minister is appointed by the President. The President is the supreme head of state."

"???"

What?

"So, sending them to capture the President was correct?" Jacqueline asked blankly.

Wallace was speechless for a moment. What was going on? What kind of thing were Muggles running? The Minister of Magic is definitely the biggest official in the Ministry of Magic; that's simple and unquestionable! But Muggles have both a President and a Prime Minister—who is actually the biggest?!

"Forget it! Let's capture the Prime Minister too!" another wizard suddenly said. "We still have four Goblin Gold Coins here. It's just capturing one more Muggle, it doesn't matter!"

"Fine," Jacqueline said, regaining her composure and asking the clerk, "Where is the Prime Minister?"

"He is usually at the Chigi Palace," the clerk said. The wizards' faces darkened, but fortunately, the clerk added, "However, the Prime Minister has an important meeting today, and he is currently at the Parliament Building."

On the other side, in the Parliament Building's security office, a guard pointed at a scene on the monitor. "Look here, Mr. Traton was in the hallway just a moment ago, but he disappeared in the next instant."

"And here, this door opened by itself and closed by itself. And here, the expensive fountain pen on Councilor Levado's desk suddenly vanished..."

But before he could finish, the captain suddenly pressed his earpiece, stopping him from continuing.

"What?!" the captain shouted. "Yes! Understood!"

Ending the call, the captain's face turned pale. "Emergency order! Protect the Prime Minister! Terrorists have hijacked the President!"

Everyone was stunned. How was that possible? There were so many guards at the Presidential Palace, and checkpoints were set up for several kilometers outside. Did the other side fly in? And were the guards at the Quirinal Palace eating dung?

But then, they looked at the monitors again, and their hearts immediately tightened.

The Parliament Building had also been breached!

But how did they do it?

Hackers?

There was no time to think. Everyone immediately took action, and the captain hurriedly issued orders to guards at all positions. "The Parliament Building has been invaded by terrorists! Protect the Prime Minister! If you discover anything unusual, you are authorized to open fire! Remember, anything unusual! The other side is suspected to be..."

A look of extreme absurdity and fear appeared on the captain's face.

"Superpowered individuals!"

"Repeat! The other side is suspected to be superpowered individuals! If you discover suspicious personnel, you are authorized to open fire!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 418 =====